Manero

Dream Weaver

June 28, 2011

We’re coming out of the long weekend with guns blazing.

Eighty degrees. Sunny. Severe sundress warnings in effect for the tristate area.

That’s a beach day on any calendar.

Lucky for you, we happen to know a sandy spot that’s easily accessible... via elevator.

Introducing the Dream Downtown, a summer-loving MePa hotel that’s capped with the first rooftop beach in Manhattan history, now open.

What you’re looking at here is essentially a Saint-Tropez-themed version of the elevated lounge. A sand-covered, bamboo-shaded oasis situated on the second floor, where you’ll come for a dip in the glass-bottom pool anytime the UV index breaks 7. (Or anytime you’re taking a summer Tuesday.)

At the precise moment when the sun’s at its strongest, you’ll want to shift from the first-floor lobby (with views up into the glass-bottom swimming pool) to the beach deck, secure a place to sit and drop by the bar for a piña colada. You’ll find it toward the back, surrounded by picnic tables and located on a plot of white sand.

And though it may have all the telltale signs of an exclusive beach club, the outdoor bar is open to the public, so access won’t require a room key, a cabana reservation or even a properly zinc-covered nose.

But you’ll probably want to have the zinc just in case.